WalkawayPower – the freedom to walk away

Why is WalkawayPower needed?

Many people face this on their own before they seek help

Violence and control can develop gradually. Psychological abuse, manipulation, financial control and digital surveillance can be hard to recognise, particularly when they form part of a relationship marked by fear or dependence.

Many people subjected to violence never contact support services. Others only seek help after a long time. Research shows that fear, a lack of knowledge and uncertainty about what happens when you tell someone about the violence can be important barriers.

At the same time, the need for knowledge and practical preparation can be great at precisely this stage.

How do you know whether what you are experiencing is violence? How can you get an overview of your finances if someone else controls the money? What should you know about digital surveillance? How can you prepare to leave without increasing the risk?

For some, even seemingly simple actions can be dangerous if the person using violence finds out about them.

This creates a serious paradox: people who need protection and support may have to find out about risks and options long before they are in contact with anyone who can help.

Understanding rights and support services

Norway has important support services and protection schemes, but they are spread across agencies with different roles, powers and limitations.

The police, NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration), child welfare services, health services and crisis centres can all help in different ways. For someone seeking help, it can be difficult to understand who is responsible for what, which rights apply and what to expect when making contact.

Nor can it be taken for granted that the violence will be understood or the risk correctly assessed.

In its review, the Partner Homicide Commission (Partnerdrapsutvalget) documented serious weaknesses in parts of the work of the support services, including in understanding psychological violence and control, in risk assessment and in follow-up.

People therefore need more than an overview of the support available. They need knowledge of their own rights, of the responsibilities and powers of the various agencies, and of how they can prepare to seek help.

The Foundation’s purpose

WalkawayPower’s social mission is broader than developing a digital service.

Its purpose is set out in Section 2 of the statutes as follows:

The purpose of the WalkawayPower Foundation is to strengthen people’s right and opportunity to live a life free from violence, coercion, control and other violations.

The Foundation shall contribute to greater knowledge, judgement and room for action for individuals and in society, so that people can live safely and freely in their relationships.

The Foundation’s services are open to everyone. The Foundation takes as its starting point that relational violence does not affect the sexes equally. Women are particularly exposed to serious and repeated violence, control, sexual violence and intimate partner homicide. Women’s situation shall therefore be given particular weight in the Foundation’s work.

Unofficial English rendering. The Norwegian text of the statutes is authoritative.

Our first initiative: WalkawayPower.org

We are developing a free digital self-help service for people who are living with, considering leaving or have left violent, controlling or unsafe relationships. The service will also give family, friends and others close to them knowledge about how they can help.

WalkawayPower.org will do more than provide information. We are developing an integrated solution in which knowledge about violence and control is linked to self-assessments, risk information, practical guides and decision support.

The aim is that users will be able, among other things, to:

• Recognise different forms of violence, coercion and control, and get help to understand their own situation.
• Learn about risk factors and how their own safety can be affected by different actions.
• Understand their rights and the responsibilities and powers of support services, and how to prepare for contact with them.
• Get an overview of their own finances and plan for greater financial independence.
• Understand digital surveillance and technology-facilitated control.
• Work on contingency and safety planning tailored to their own situation.

The service is intended to support people at different stages, whether they are unsure about what they are experiencing, want to stay, are considering leaving or need support afterwards.

We will not tell anyone what to do. We will make it easier to understand risk, see options and prepare to make their own choices.

The service is in development and undergoing expert quality assurance. It is not yet available to the public.

Our long-term ambitions

WalkawayPower is intended to become more than a single digital service.

We want to build a lasting, professionally strong and financially sustainable non-profit organisation that can develop further initiatives to prevent relational violence and strengthen people’s ability to live safely and freely.

In the longer term, we want to develop new knowledge resources, preventive tools and services in collaboration with research communities, public bodies and non-profit organisations.

We also want to contribute to greater knowledge about the challenges faced by people subjected to violence, and about how preventive services can be developed and improved.

Over time, the ambition is also to make knowledge, methods and services available internationally. This will happen step by step, with the necessary adaptation to local laws, support services and social conditions.

A non-profit and independent foundation

WalkawayPower is based on the principle that people who experience violence or control should have free access to the Foundation’s services, without being subject to commercial exploitation.

We have therefore chosen to establish a non-profit foundation in which its purpose and the interests of its users take precedence over private financial interests.

The statutes stipulate that user-facing services shall not contain advertising, paid product placement or commercial marketing. Nor shall the Foundation’s name, brand and reputation be exploited for private commercial gain.

The Foundation shall be able to receive support, enter into partnerships and carry out income-generating activities that further its purpose, provided this does not compromise its independence or the interests of its users.

The aim is to build an organisation that can endure and continue to develop, even when the founders are no longer involved.

Sources

• Norwegian National Human Rights Institution (NIM): Videre etter vold? [Moving on after violence?], in particular the chapter on access to information and barriers to seeking help.
• NOU 2020:17 (Official Norwegian Report): Varslede drap? Partnerdrapsutvalgets utredning [Foretold killings? Report of the Partner Homicide Commission].
• Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS): Omfang av vold og overgrep i den norske befolkningen [The extent of violence and abuse in the Norwegian population] (2023).
• Statutes of the WalkawayPower Foundation, Section 2 and Sections 6–7.

The sources are in Norwegian. English titles in square brackets are our own translations.